Indonesia Hosts Miss World

Beauty queens, Lady Gaga and the power of Islamist thugs.

Updated Sept. 26, 2013 7:29 p.m. ET

For the second time in two years, Indonesia's government has bowed to radical Muslim groups threatening violence against a Western cultural icon. Having cancelled a sold-out concert by pop star Lady Gaga last year, officials this month banished the Miss World beauty pageant from the capital city of Jakarta.

The world's largest Muslim-majority country, Indonesia once had a reputation for moderate religious practice. But Islamists have gradually made inroads in society and in the young democracy's leadership. By scrapping...